Newcastle manager Alan Pardew escapes FA charge over Manuel Pellegrini insult during defeat by Manchester City

Alan Pardew will not face charges following his insult towards Manuel Pellegrini (Ian MacNicol/AFP/Getty Images)

Alan Pardew will be reminded by the Football Association of his responsibilities towards the game, but the Newcastle United manager will not face charges for calling Manuel Pellegrini a "fucking old cunt" during Manchester City's win at St James' Park on Sunday.

Pardew apologised during the game and although the FA looked at the incident, it is not the kind of clash that it is in the business of charging individuals over. Pardew apologised to Pellegrini after the match. He will receive a letter from the governing body reminding him of the standards of behaviour expected.

The referee, Mike Jones, whose decision to disallow Cheick Tioté's goal in the game – accepted to be incorrect – has been dropped by the referees' body Professional Games Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) for the weekend round of games. His linesman Ron Ganfield, with whom he conferred before making the decision, has also been dropped to the Championship in the wake of a bad afternoon for the officials at St James' Park.

The league have entrusted Phil Dowd with the weekend's biggest fixture, the visit of Manchester United to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea in the 4pm Sunday kick-off.

The City attacker Samir Nasri has said that he will be out of action for "around eight weeks" following the foul on him by Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.

The France international acknowledged that it was "good news" in the circumstances with fears on the day that the medial ligament knee injury could be so serious he might miss the rest of the season and potentially the World Cup finals.